Michigan church attack adds to rising toll of US mass shootings in 2025

A violent attack in Michigan has left at least four people dead and eight others injured after a former US Marine drove his vehicle into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, set the building on fire, and opened fire with an assault rifle.

The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, was killed in a shootout with police.

The incident, which took place in a town of 7,700 people, unfolded in front of hundreds of worshippers and quickly escalated into one of the deadliest church attacks in recent years in the United States.

Suspect’s background and police response

Sanford, from nearby Burton, served in the US Marine Corps between 2004 and 2008 and was an Iraq war veteran.

According to investigators, he deliberately targeted the church, using an accelerant, most likely gasoline, to ignite the blaze that engulfed the building.

The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that explosives were also recovered from the scene.

Emergency calls were made as the vehicle rammed through the front doors of the church.

Within 30 seconds, two officers arrived and engaged Sanford in gunfire.

Police Chief William Renye said the exchange lasted about eight minutes before Sanford was fatally shot in the parking lot.

Casualties and search for victims

Officials confirmed that two of the victims were killed during the shooting itself, while eight others were rushed to the hospital with injuries.

Several hours later, two more bodies were discovered in the burned remains of the building.

Authorities warned that further victims could still be found, as parts of the church had yet to be cleared.

The FBI has taken the lead in the investigation, classifying the incident as an act of targeted violence.

Investigators are now examining Sanford’s home and phone records in search of a motive.

Link to other veteran shooting in North Carolina

Coinciding with the Michigan attack, another 40-year-old Marine veteran was accused of a separate mass shooting in Southport, North Carolina, less than 14 hours earlier.

Police charged Nigel Max Edge with three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder after he allegedly fired on a waterfront bar from a boat.

Court records reveal that Edge, who previously changed his name from Sean William DeBevoise, had filed a federal lawsuit against the US government, citing severe injuries sustained during his service in Iraq, including traumatic brain injury.

Though dismissed, the lawsuit documented his history as a decorated Marine.

Mass shootings in 2025

The Grand Blanc tragedy was the 324th mass shooting in the US in 2025, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

It was also the third such attack in less than 24 hours, following the Southport shooting and another incident at a casino in Eagle Pass, Texas, where at least two people were killed and several others injured.

Grand Blanc, located about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit, became the site of a crime that underscored the rising frequency of large-scale shootings across the US.

Officials stressed that the investigation remains ongoing, as both the immediate cause and potential wider connections are still being assessed.